Titiwangsa MP Johari Ghani has urged the developer of the Kampung Sungai Baru project to immediately complete two housing blocks promised to residents eight years ago.
Johari said the move is vital to restore confidence among the residents displaced by the redevelopment project, Kosmo reported.
He said the prolonged delay has caused anxiety among those affected, and suggested that the developer engage UDA Holdings Bhd if it lacks the capacity to proceed.
“More than 300 residents have already relocated, with only 14 families in terraced houses still remaining.
“The developer must first complete the two new blocks on the site of the old flats which were demolished and cleared.
“It has been eight years. Ask the developer, when do they intend to start?” Johari, who is also the plantation and commodities minister, said after launching the MSPO Impact Alliance today.
He said the problem stemmed from 67% of the residents signing agreements with the developer after the 14th general election, despite his earlier advice to them not to sign any agreement with the developer as the company lacked financial strength and experience.
Johari also said the Land Acquisition Act 1960 has been misused to allow the developer to merge units of flats and terraced houses for redevelopment, even though some residents objected.
He stressed that any development in Kampung Sungai Baru must safeguard the rights and interests of the Malay community.
A commotion broke out at Kampung Sungai Baru, a smaller village enclave within Kampung Baru itself, when the authorities evicted residents from 37 houses on Sept 11, with 14 homeowners refusing to vacate their homes.
The homeowners said they were dissatisfied with the compensation, the form of resettlement, and the land acquisition process, which they claimed lacked transparency.
In 2021, the then government invoked the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to seize the land before handing it over to the developer.
The eviction order issued last week was the developer’s second attempt to remove the 14 remaining homeowners from the area, which is adjacent to Kampung Baru.
